Homework 2

Documentary review: Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?

Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? is a documentary about the real history of an

American guy, in the 90s. It was produced by Netflix, directed by Andrew
Renzi, and premiered in November 2022.
I decided to write a review of this, because it talks about how companies lie in
their ads in order to increase their sales at the expense of consumers.
The documentary is about a legal battle between John Leonard and PepsiCo
for a AV-8 Harrier II jet as the main prize.
The story begins with PepsiCo trying to compete in sales with their main rival
Coca-Cola Company. So, in order to increase the sales, Pepsico’s managers
devised an advertising strategy that consisted in collecting caps and changing
it for Pepsi products as T-shirts or sunglasses. The problem was that, in the
prizes, one can obtain a military jet, AV-8 Harrier II, for seven millions of
points. And, according to the ads shown on TV, there was not nothing saying
that the military jet was a joke or only for advertising purposes. Then, a 21
years old man, called John Leonard, believed that the advertisement was real
and that indeed, he could obtain seven millions of points. So, John looked at
the conditions to obtain the prizes and it was legal to obtain the jet by
collecting only fifteen caps and the rest of points can be bought for
US$700,000, when the jet value was estimated at US$32 million.
The story continues with John trying to convince five investors. When he
finally did it, the team sent a check for US$700,000 to PepsiCo. The company
thought that was a joke and they replied with another joke.
After that, the team decided to sue PepsiCo for misleading advertising,
beginning the legal battle. After a series of legal defeats, John lost the case
and PepsiCo company was not forced to pay them.
In my personal experience it is a well-done documentary, with good
performances and the drama is present throughout the series in spite of the
duration of this. I highly recommend it and it is perfect for a free Sunday
because it is a short documentary, only four episodes.